FASTinov and UBQ II are the most recent Portuguese SMEs in the Champions League of European innovation, with funded projects under Horizon 2020. More than 2 million euros of European funds that will foster the launch of disruption solutions developed by Portuguese companies.

FASTinov is an SME with ties to the Faculty of Medicine of Porto University, and has just become the first Portuguese company to coordinate a project funded under the Horizon 2020 Fast Track to Innovation program. Through this program, the European Commission aims to support disruptive ideas with significant economic potential. FASTinov’s project is one of the 16 selected out of 263 applications, and aims to launch a technology that takes less than 2 hours to establish the best approach to fight an infection. The consortium of partners led by FASTinov will receive from the European Commission 2,6 million euros to foster the market launch of this technology.

UBQ II is the second Portuguese SME funded through Fase 2 of the SME Instrument, one of the most popular and competitive programs of Horizon 2020, that aims to support SMEs with disruptive solutions and global ambitions. UBQ II is a micro company located in the Madeira region, that produces natural extracts from marine macroalgae. Out of the 16 proposals submitted under the blue growth topic, UBQ’s was the only to get funded. Its project, with a total budget of 1,1 million euros, will support the market launch of an iodine bio-extract with potential to address several endocrine system diseases.

Overall, the Portuguese participation in the SME Instrument has now reached 27 Fase 1 project beneficiaries, and two Fase 2, to which we can add four additional participants in Fast Track to Innovation projects. This translates now into more than 5 million euros in European funding for Portuguese companies.

Attend the sessions devoted to Healthcare, organized by GPPQ (the National Office for the Promotion of the EU R&I Framework Programme) to publicize the new tenders and foster a debate on the benefits of Horizon 2020.

Register and learn all about the upcoming tenders. 320 million euros await you:

ICT for Health

Clinical studies

Active and healthy aging

Big data and computer modeling

The main goal is to support R&D projects that can convert science into tangible benefits for citizens and for the European health sector. The goal is to accelerate knowledge transfer and create innovative solutions for the prevention, diagnosis,treatment nethods, and healthcare services in Europe and worldwide.

These sessions are aimed at hospitals, universities, private R&D associations, companies, patient organizations, and third sector entities with access to end users.

The sessions are free of charge but registration is required at the GPPQ site via the links provided below:

May 23, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon

ANI (the Portuguese National Innovation Agency) in partnership with the Council of the Portuguese Diaspora and FCT (the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) will organize the workshop “The Portuguese Business Diaspora and the Opportunities of the Horizon 2020 Program”.

This event will discuss actions to maximize the involvement of Portuguese business diaspora in supporting the participation of national companies in the Horizon 2020 Programme. Within this workshop, the Portuguese experience of business diaspora in European projects and their contributions to national objectives in Horizon 2020 will be discussed, by presenting examples of three companies: GE Renewables, Embraer and Optimal.

These events are organized by GPPQ (the National Office for the Promotion of the EU R&I Framework Programme) in partnership with the Enterprise Europe Network, which has IAPMEI as an operational partner in Lisbon, and ANI (the Portuguese National Innovation Agency) and ANJE (the National Association of Young Entrepreneurs) in Porto.

Looking for a researcher with the talent to transform your idea into a breakthrough product?

This programme can be the answer!

The European Commission launched a pilot initiative ‘H2020 SME Innovation Associate for Business‘ which intends to encourage SMEs and start-ups with visionary ideas to recruit PhD holders from other European Union countries or countries associated to Horizon 2020, to work for a year in the development of their innovation project.

The competition is open until June 30 and aims to address the difficulties of access to knowledge and expertise in SMEs by awarding a grant to cover the salary and costs associated with hiring a Phd.

Specifically designed for companies, this instrument seeks to identify and support great business opportunities on a European scale, providing 100 million euros in EU funding throughout 2016.

The session will be attended by Pilar Cervero, from the Executive Agency for SMEs (EASME), which is responsible for managing the Fast Track to Innovation, as well as by evaluators and National Contact Points for Horizon 2020, who will share their views on what it takes to make a successful proposal .

The next Fast Track to Innovation cut-off will take place as soon as March 15, 2016.

Take this opportunity to find out more about this program and schedule an interview with Pilar Cervero or the National Contact Points.